Lot 82: Nicolò dell'Abbate (Modena circa 1512-1571 Fontainebleau)

Two figures approaching a girl leading two rams, a warrior chasing a woman holding a baby to the right, a river god and figures on a ram in the background
red chalk on light brown paper, watermark crown
11 x 15 5/8 in. (278 x 397 mm.)

This is part of a series of drawings of the same size and type of composition as three other sheets in Darmstadt (S. Béguin, Nicolò dell'Abate, exhib. cat., Bologna, Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, 1969, no. 34), Louvre, Paris (inv. 5859) and the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid (inv. 7752). The drawing in Darmstadt and the present one have the same watermark.
The drawing in Madrid, The story of Psyche, that in the Louvre, The story of Perseus, that in Darmstadt, The Story of Narcissus and the present sheet have in common the composition on three levels with a very high horizon. The main scene is in the foreground while secondary ones are in the middle and background.
In the 1969 exhibition catalogue Sylvie Béguin dates the group of sheets to Nicolò's Italian period, before 1552, and notes the influence of Dossi and Correggio. She also points out the resemblance with the mythological frescoes in the Casa Fiordibelli, Reggio Emilia.